Avoid: New "Welcome" Suica in Tokyo

There is a new “Welcome Suica” card for public transport in Tokyo. Here is
why it may be a bad idea for you.

Suica and PASMO. Photo: Daniel

There is a new “Welcome Suica” card for public transport in Tokyo. Here is
why it may be a bad idea for you.

When someone asks us about transport in
Tokyo, we always
recommend that you get a SUICA (or PASMO) IC card to get around. Those IC cards
are the simplest way to use the subway; they work for public transport
almost all over Japan – not just for Tokyo subway.

The cards also double as e-Money; they are accepted at shops, newsstands and
vending machines and you can even use them to buy a bento box on the
shinkansen.

They are available from ticket machines at almost any subway station for a small
¥500 deposit. Apparently this is somehow not for visitors, so JR East decided
to introduce a
“Welcome Suica”
for “short term visitors”.

“Welcome Suica”

The “Welcome Suica” works exactly like a regular Suica, with the one advantage
that you don’t have to pay the ¥500 deposit. You can also load some discount
passes onto it that you’d previously buy as paper tickets.

But, unlike the regular card, “Welcome Suica” expires 28 days after purchase
and comes with an absolute “no refunds” policy. Which means that the card will
become useless after 28 days and any remaining balance goes to JR East.

In addition, you have to keep the “reference paper” that you get together with
the card; you are supposed to show that to the staff upon request.

As there is no deposit and no refund, you can obviously keep the card as a
souvenir – it does come with a cherry blossom design, while the regular
ones feature the mascot penguin.

Regular SUICA

The standard SUICA, on the other hand, remains valid for 10 years after the
last use. You can also return the card for all full refund of the balance and
deposit, minus a small fee.

This means that if you have a remaining balance, you
can either hold on to your card for the next trip (even if that’s in a few
years) or get a refund.

If you want to keep the card as a souvenir, you have to forfeit the ¥500
deposit, but the card will remain valid for 10 years should you ever return.

Virtual SUICA (Apple Pay)

If you have a compatible iPhone (8 or above), you can just
add SUICA to your wallet and top
it up using Apple Pay. There is no deposit and no expiry, but also no plastic
card to use as a souvenir.

Why?

“Welcome Suica” has almost no advantages for the user; unless you really want
the card as a souvenir, you don’t plan on returning and you manage to leave
with a balance of less than ¥500.

It does have a lot of advantages for JR East: They don’t have to deal with
people asking for refunds or their deposit back. They can also immediately close
the card and keep the balance, instead of keeping your account open for 10
years in case you return.

PASMO Passport

PASMO, the other IC card system in Tokyo (issued by the subway), came up with
a similar offer: PASMO Passport.